UAB Invents the Invisibility Cloak! (for magnets…)

Four scientists at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona have come up with a way to make magnets undetectable by neutralising their magnetic field. According to a paper published in The New Journal of Physics, the “cloak” effectively makes a magnet invisible by “preventing any magnetic interaction with its interior while keeping the external magnetic field unaffected”.

Such a revolutionary material would be beneficial in a number of areas. In medicine, for example, patients who permanently need pacemakers or other electronic devices could undergo treatment using MRI scanners and other machines. Some critics worry however, that if such an “antimagnet” material were made readily available it could be hijacked by criminals to evade security systems like those in airports.

Nevertheless, as with many scientific innovations it is important to weigh up the benefits with the disadvantages and the vast majority of the scientific community are of the opinion that, when used correctly, the “antimagnet” will actually improve levels of security and the quality of healthcare. The study is being praised as a huge advance in so called “cloaking technology” and some believe that the production of prototype “antimagnet” materials in laboratories could soon begin.